


Bodhi Celebrates Pesach

by JordanRiver



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Gen, Jews In Space, Passover / Pesach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-23 05:03:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10712748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JordanRiver/pseuds/JordanRiver
Summary: Bodhi's new friend invites him and the Rogue One crew to their first post-war Pesach Seder.





	Bodhi Celebrates Pesach

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [In the Marketplace](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10598394) by [AliciaSinCiudad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliciaSinCiudad/pseuds/AliciaSinCiudad). 



Noora straightened up, with one hand on the small of her back. Look at all those boxes and bags! How to make Pesach out of all of this? Oy!

She sighed. She knew that she always kvetched about all the work, but was always so happy at the Seder. Where to begin? Tomorrow, she’d make gefilte fish with an old recipe passed down from her Aunt Sophie. A little dill, a little celery, some carrots, onions, ah… It already felt like Pesach.

The days flashed by in a whirl of cooking, baking, schlepping, kvetching, sweating, shopping, and phone conferences about menus, guests, and recipes. And finally, admiring the beautiful table, all ready for the Seder.

Noora sat down and looked around the table. As she did every year, she felt keenly the absence of her son, Shaheem. Nothing would ever erase that loss, but now, with the war over, and the table surrounded by old and new friends, Noora felt a new and hopeful beginning. So many of the people she loved the most were there. She saw her husband Rameen, with whom she’d shared so many holidays, so much sorrow and so much joy. Their friends from the marketplace, many of whom had moved with them to the New City, when they began rebuilding nearly five years ago. Cousins and siblings, nieces and nephews, in-laws and neighbors, and those who nobody remembered exactly how they were related anymore, so everyone just called them “auntie.” And then there were the new faces. Their new friend Bodhi, who, though he could never replace Shaheem, had something of the same spark in his eyes. It was his first Seder since returning to Jedha, and he had brought his friends to celebrate freedom after a long war. There was his partner, Cassian, a stern, serious man, who after years as a spy and a soldier, was finding his way to a new spirituality. And then there was Jyn, a tough-minded survivor who had learned to let people into her life. And Silverstein, Bodhi’s old army buddy, a nice Jedhan boy who seemed very enthusiastic once he learned that Jyn would be in attendance. There were also two monks from the Old City, Baze and Chirrut, and Cassian’s droid friend, K-2SO.

K-2SO was technically the youngest, so it fell to him to ask the Four Questions. Of course, being a know-it-all, he answered, “Why is this night different from all other nights?” with his own reply, “I’m  _ only _ asking for tradition,  _ obviously  _ I already know the answer.” This was his first Seder, and yet, he acted like he owned it. When it was his turn to read about the four sons, he took the opportunity to look pointedly at different guests. For the wise son, he looked at Cassian, for the wicked one, Jyn. For the simple son, he looked at Chirrut, and he looked at Baze for the son who doesn’t even know to ask a question.

K-2SO was having a great time, as were the other guests. Noora glowed with happiness, and a little bit of sweat. Now, they would read, and sing, and ask questions, and drink wine, and eat a feast.

And Silverstein, he was at the table too, enjoying every minute, and planning a little surprise entry later in the evening. Would Elijah show up? Would he have a dashing, ginger-colored mustache? Would he limp ever so slightly? Would Jyn take one look and swoon? (He hoped so.)

And meanwhile, more singing, more eating, and more cups of wine.

 

Cassian had been liberal with his four glasses of wine… only two of which he was supposed to have drunk at this point.

“Aren’t we supposed to be so drunk that we can’t tell Mordechai from Haman?” he asked Bodhi, with a gleam in his eye.

“That’s Purim.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be so drunk that we can’t tell Purim from Pesach?”

“...no.”

At some point during Shulchan Orech, Bodhi noticed that the room was less chaotic, and it dawned on him that Cassian was missing. As was Jyn. This could not mean anything good. But it was Pesach, Bodhi reminded himself, and he deserved a rest as much as anyone else. He sat down to finish his second bowl of matzah ball soup - or was it his first? He always got so verklempt during the Seder - and decided to let things sort themselves out.

“I’ve found it!” Jyn crowed, rushing into the dining room, holding something flat, wrapped in a red-and-pink polka dotted cloth.

“That’s not right,” Bodhi said, confused. “I didn’t wrap the Afikomen in that hideous thing.” Although it was traditional for the hosts to hide the Afikomen, neither Noora nor Rameen had been able to refuse his eager smile or puppy-dog eyes.

“If this isn’t the Afikomen, then…” Jyn unwrapped the object in her hand, to find a piece of cardboard. It said “Got ya!” and was signed, in shaky Hebrew, “Cass, the Afikomen Master.” “I’m going to kill you, Andor!” Jyn shouted, bolting out of the room.

“There’s no killing at the Pesach Seder,” Bodhi called after her, a worried expression on his face. But she was already out of hearing range.

It was another ten minutes before Noora and Rameen called everyone back to the dining room. Bodhi grinned, proud that he had managed to outsmart the fugitive and the spy. “Give up?” he asked.

“Never!” Jyn and Cassian shouted in unison.

“Too bad!” Baze shouted back. “I’ve been waiting for my third glass of wine for an hour, so  _ someone _ had better produce the damned thing.”

“Nice to know that  _ some _ people wait,” K-2 muttered, with a pointed look at Cassian.

“You’ll never guess!” Bodhi grinned, leading them to the entrance. He reached into the closet, drew out the box of extra kipot, and opened it with a triumphant air. Only to stare, dumb-founded, at the lime green kipot left over from a cousin’s Bar Mitzvah, and the utter lack of Afikomen.

“Looking for this?” Chirrut asked, producing the Matzah from under his robe.

“How- how did you? - But, you never left the room…” Bodhi gaped openly at Chirrut.

“I was one with the Force, and the Force was with me,” Chirrut smiled serenely. "Besides, the Force moves crunchily around the Afikomen."

“Baze found it for you, didn’t he?” Cassian accused, slurring his words just a little. He tried to take a swipe at Baze, but ended up falling onto the couch.

“Why is this night no different from all the other nights?” K-2 muttered.

It was decided to leave Cassian on the couch during the Grace after the meal, as missing the third cup of wine would do him no harm. After the third cup was drunk (by all but Cassian), there came a knock at the door.

“Who could that be?” exclaimed Noora with an innocent expression. “Let’s ask them in. After all, don’t we say  _ All who are hungry should come and eat, and all who are in need should come and partake _ ? My old legs are tired. Jyn, you are young, go open the door.” She gently pushed Jyn forward, towards the front door.

There came a mumbling from the couch, something vaguely coherent about a pilot, or a ginger mustache, but everyone ignored Cassian’s drunken rambling.

Jyn opened the door. She stared at the fine figure cut by the ancient prophet. “Silverstein!”

“Elijah,” the prophet corrected.

“I - I never knew - I mean - blue is definitely your color! Please, come in and have a glass of wine.”

And so the prophet Elijah sat down at the table, in a chair no longer occupied by Silverstein, to join in the singing of Hallel. Miracles were recounted, both historic and personal. Songs with historical allusions were sung joyously. A surprisingly sweet voice could even be heard joining in from the couch.

At the end of the Seder, Noora said, wiping a tear from her eye, “Every year, we say  _ Next year in NiJedha _ . Since the City’s destruction, we said it with sorrow, but it is no longer a dream. And so I say with a heart full of hope, this year, and next year, and for many years to come, may we celebrate together in this rebuilt city. And may the Force be with us all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Pesach (or Passover) is one of the most important holidays for the Jews. The Pesach Seder is when families gather - it is a little like Christmas and Easter put together.
> 
> A Passover Seder is a ritual meal with many rites, readings, and songs, in which we recount the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery and their Exodus from Egypt. One of the rituals included is the four cups of wine... but you are only supposed to have had two by Shulchan Orech (the actual meal). We also open the door to the Prophet Elijah, and in some families, some one will dress up as Elijah and actually enter and join the Seder.
> 
> The Four Questions are usually asked by the youngest child. They ask why this night is different from all other nights, citing different rituals, and the answers to the questions are then followed by the telling of the story of the Exodus.
> 
> The Afikomen is a piece of Matzah that's hidden (usually by the host), that the kids are supposed to look for, and find, for a prize, by the end of the meal. In fact, the meal can't end until someone has found the Afikomen. 
> 
> Kipah is another word for Yarmulkah. (Kipot is plural.)
> 
> For more information, please see this highly informative video: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-jacob-the-bar-mitzvah-boy-on-passover-3/3503053?snl=1


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